The tradwife aesthetic, as it’s sold to women, is easy enough to understand. In our world of social media addiction and dead-end wage labor, it can be tempting to find comfort in the sourdough fantasy of post-war soda ads: a retreat to a simpler, if not archaic, time in recent history.
For men of the 21st century, the appeal is less obvious. Sure, there’s the unavoidable romance of conservative values some men feel affinity for, but that lifestyle came with plenty of limitations. Men were expected to shoulder the finances of their entire families, while occasionally sacrificing their lives in foreign wars — all without the solace of Zyn.
Now, researchers at the University of Nevada are one step closer to understanding what drives men toward the traditional lifestyle. And it sure as hell isn’t that white picket fence.
In a first-of-its kind study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, researchers surveyed nearly 600 American men on their feelings toward the tradwife movement. Aged between 18 and 29, the participants were asked how they felt about men, women, and tradlife themes, while being screened for various attitudes like sexism and religious fervor.
Indexing these responses, the psychologists narrowed down which factors correlated to support for the tradwife schtick. One key factor, researchers were startled to find, was “hostile sexism,” defined as overtly negative beliefs about women.
“We were taken aback,” Rachael Robnett, a psychologist at the University of Nevada and lead author of the study told the Times of London of the finding.
Themes of heightened religiosity and heterosexual intimacy were also strong indicators. Originally, the team’s assumption was that “benevolent sexism,” a chivalrous and protective attitude toward women, would emerge as the primary factor driving men to the old fashioned lifestyle.
“The type of man who strongly supports the tradwife movement is probably not what people would expect,” Robnett told the Times. “It suggests that men [who support that lifestyle] rely on women for intimacy and resent that this is the case.”
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